30 by 30

Biden’s 30 by 30 plan, a regulatory approach to conservation, an imminent response to environmental action, a promise of inclusivity to all stakeholders. Or a broken promise in the making, an environmental policy inadequate to deliver sufficient results to its stakeholders? I am set to believe Biden’s 30 by 30 plan could very well be DOA

Post-evaluation of an entrepreneurship porgram [sic] for inner-city youth

This study evaluated program graduates of National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship 1 to years after completing the program in inner city schools of Los Angeles, California. Twenty-seven out of 150 graduates participated in 2 semi-structured interviews in Northern and Southern California, or long semi-structured telephone interviews for graduates in distant places, using the same questions. Data was tape recorded, transcribed and coded utilizing traditional qualitative analysis techniques. Primary findings were that the program encouraged all the prior students to complete high school (100%), to start a business (100%), rid the fear of public speaking, self-esteem boost and foster self-confidence (69%). Eighty-nine percent of the graduates had begun a business during or after the program and continued to be an entrepreneur. Over half of these indicated that the program was solely responsible for their decisions. An additional graduate was in the process of developing a business and 2 others never initiated a business. Interestingly, 26% enrolled in the program because of influence of family, counselors, teachers, or friends and 15% replied an interest in business. Graduates repeatedly commented how the activities in the program fostered more mature decisions, including focus on schoolwork, relating to family, and completing projects. Their student decision-making moved toward accepting responsibility for personal decisions, actions, and consequences. Knowledge and skills gained included obtainment of college scholarships, budgeting and saving money, recognizing financial losses, paying bills on time, and making financial choices from options. Graduates revealed that the program buoyed their self-esteem and promoted a can do mentality as they had to present a business plan, speak before business prospects, and network their ideas. Graduates argued that this curriculum should be available in all schools, both urban and rural. However, they suggested that the curriculum should be expanded as they perceived they were just getting the idea and the program be offered in prior grades, not just the senior year, and to supply online supplemental resources during and after the program. Policymakers should promote this curriculum in middle and high schools across the country as a means to encourage at-risk students to participate in this country`s entrepreneurial spirit

Evaluation of Free-Living Nematodes Panagrellus Redivivus as Starter Food for Malaysian River Catfish, Mystus Nemurus (Cuvier and Valenciennes) Larvae

The performance of Panagrellus redivivus on growth and survival of Mystus nemurus larvae was assessed in this study. Prior to the assessment study, the optimal stocking condition for M. nemurus larvae was determined. A stocking density of 10 larvae L-1 gave the highest growth and survival during the 16-days rearing period. However a stocking range of 25-43 larvae L-1 was recommended for commercial hatchery production. The performance of P. redivivus was compared with Brachionus spp., Moina spp., Chironomus spp. and Artemia sp. Larvae fed with Chironomus spp. exhibited the best growth (P<0.05) compared to those fed with P. redivivus, Brachionus spp., Moina spp. and Artemia sp. No significant differences in growth were found among those fed with the later live foods. Nevertheless, these live foods gave a significantly higher survival than Chironomus spp. In the following study, M. nemurus larvae fed smaller P. redivivus on the first week followed by bigger Chironomus spp. showed improved survival and growth than those fed on Chironomus spp. or P. redivivus alone. This combination also gave better results than those of Artemia nauplii. Another study was conducted to determine the optimal feeding density of P. redivivus for M. nemurus larvae. The results of two feeding trials showed that the optimum feeding density on the first week and second week of feeding were 60 nematodes mL-1 and 125 nematodes mL-1, respectively. This feeding regime was adopted in the following experiment. Finally, P. redivivus was evaluated as the first food for the weaning of M. nemurus larvae to an artificial diet. The results showed no significant effect (P>0.05) of gradual weaning from Day 4 and d irect weaning at Day 8 of exogenous feeding with P. redivivus as the first food on the survival and growth of catfish larvae. P. redivivus was found to be suitable as an Artemia replacement (as the first food) for the weaning of M. nemurus larvae

EIAV DB: a comprehensive equine infectious anemia (EIAV) virus database

A major problem in biology is the storage and retrieval of biological data in a meaningful and efficient manner. With the advent of mass sequencing projects, such as the human genome project, the need to store, retrieve, and analyze sequence data is stronger than ever before. The following thesis tackles a small part of this problem by presenting techniques, models, and applications for productively storing and retrieving a set of related viral sequences in a central data bank. The thesis begins by providing an overview of the relational database and its role in storing biological data. The main chapter of the thesis is a description of a novel relational database application (EIAV DB). EIAV DB is a central repository of equine infections anemia virus (EIAV) sequence and feature information. The models and application provide insight into technologies that help alleviate the storage and retrieval problem

Damage Detection And Analysis In Cfrps Using Acoustic Emission Technique

Real time monitoring of damage is an important aspect of life management of critical structures. Acoustic emission (AE) techniques allow for measurement and assessment of damage in real time. Acoustic emission parameters such as signal amplitude and duration were monitored during the loading sequences. Criteria that can indicate the onset of critical damage to the structure were developed. Tracking the damage as it happens gives a better analysis of the failure evolution that will allow for a more accurate determination of structural life. The main challenge is distinguishing between legitimate damage signals and “false positives†which are unrelated to damage growth. Such false positives can be related to electrical noise, friction, or mechanical vibrations. This research focuses on monitoring signals of damage growth in carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) and separating the relevant signals from the false ones. In this Dissertation, acoustic emission signals from CFRP specimens were experimentally recorded and analyzed. The objectives of this work are: (1) perform static and fatigue loading of CFRP composite specimens and measure the associated AE signals, (2) accurately determine the AE parameters (energy, frequency, duration, etc.) of signals generated during failure of such specimens, (3) use fiber optic sensors to monitor the strain distribution of the damage zone and relate the changes in strain measurements to AE data

Hypothesis building using the Animal Trait Ontology

With the advent of sequencing projects in model organisms, humans, and domesticated livestock species, the need for storage, retrieval, and analysis of genomics information for these animals has become important. The Animal Trait Ontology (ATO) is an ontology that has been created to store the relationships between farm animal traits for several domesticated farm animals. The Collaborative Ontology Building (COB) editor was used to create and edit the ATO. An online ontology browser has been developed to search and browse the ontology and to view the relationships between the terms. Some of the traits in the ontology are linked to associated quantitative trait loci (QTL) information for each species through a tool called the Comparative Animal QTL (CAQ) tool which allows users to compare QTL experiments in livestock species. The tool allows QTL experiments to be compared based on (1) one trait given one species, and (2) two traits given one species. The effectiveness of the tool is recorded in the form of a data and statistical analysis which demonstrates its use in examining pleiotropic effects for traits in the pig. In addition, the Human and Animal Trait Ontology is discussed and it will form an agglomeration of several different species ontologies, including the ATO, that will form a consensus for describing phenotypes and traits across different disease models

Deferred Entry of Judgment: An Overlooked and Undervalued Benefit of Proposition 21

IN MARCH OF 2000, the voters of California passed Proposition 21, the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act of 1998, which altered sections of the Welfare and Institution and Penal Codes as well as created new sections that delineate a supervision program for certain minors brought before the courts. Proponents hailed the initiative as a get tough on juvenile crime and gangs measure, while opponents argued it was a draconian attempt to incarcerate more children for longer periods of time, and was too sweeping in its effect